Political Tensions Mount in Goa: AAP vs BJP Over Scandal

Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Goa state machinery of shielding the son of a party councillor who was arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting multiple minor girls and distributing obscene videos. Kejriwal made these allegations at a public meeting leading up to the Ponda assembly bypoll.

The councillor's son, Soham Naik, was arrested on March 22 following local protests, facing multiple charges under various acts, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Kejriwal criticized the BJP for attempting to protect Naik by filing less severe charges and expressed disapproval of the Goa BJP president's sympathetic stance towards the councillor.

The political tension escalates as Kejriwal asserts that Congress candidate Ketan Bhatikar is covertly a BJP plant. With the bypoll scheduled due to the death of former BJP MLA Ravi Naik, Kejriwal warns of Bhatikar's possible allegiance shift towards the BJP if elected on a Congress ticket.